To grow a tree, gardeners resort to the help of special farms and acquire seedlings for planting. But there is another way that is much more complicated and takes longer.
You can grow an apple tree from the bone.
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Is it possible to grow a tree from apple seed at home?
This process takes time. and can be quite risky. Because the fruits can vary greatly in taste from the original plant.
As the final material can be obtained:
- A full-fledged tree that brings delicious, varietal fruits.
- Wild apple tree with small fruits, suitable for processing.
- It is also possible to obtain an ornamental plant, the fruits of which will be beautiful, but not tasty.
If you comply with all the conditions for growing apples from seed, there is a high probability to get a varietal tree. The best option is considered to be the use of an annual sapling in the form of a stock to an already adult tree.
To protect yourself from not receiving material suitable for planting, it is better to germinate a few seedsextracted from different varieties of apples.
How to choose a seed for growing apples?
It is worth remembering that the cultivation of apple from seeds is a laborious and lengthy process, and that it ends in success, need to pick the right seeds.
They must be dense and ripe.Such planting material is characterized by dark color and uniform color.
Also, the seeds should not have any mechanical damage, so you need to remove them from the apple as carefully as possible.
For proper preparation, the following steps are taken:
- Washing - in order to get rid of the inhibiting layer that prevents germination, the selected seeds are placed in a container with warm water and stirring with a small spoon for 3-5 minutes, this procedure is best repeated several times. Then the water is drained using a sieve or gauze.
- Soak - then the seeds are poured with water and put in a warm place for 3-4 days. On day 3, experienced gardeners recommend adding growth stimulant to the tank. Water should be changed every day to avoid stagnation.
- Stratification - With this procedure, the hardening of the seeds and their preparation for the natural habitat conditions takes place.
There are several ways to stratify:
- Planting material is mixed with peat and sand in a ratio of 1 to 3, then the mixture is moistened to such a state until water begins to seep to the surface.
- According to gardeners, the best substrate is moss, mixed with wooden sawdust.
- Also use a combination of sand, sawdust and activated carbon.
In the selected substrate seeds must be 6 days at room temperature. At this time they will swell. Then they are moved to the refrigerator for 2-3 months.
How to grow an apple tree from the bone. Seed Stratification:
Bone landing conditions
After the first shoots appear, selected the strongest and healthiest of them. For the transplantation of seeds at home is suitable any time of year.
Once the material is ready, do the following:
- A special container is prepared for sowing seeds, which is most often a box or container. At the bottom there must be holes for drainage of excess moisture.
- Then a drainage layer is made of expanded clay, pebbles and other similar materials.
- Black soil is used as a fertile soil, this soil has all the necessary young sapling substances.
- During planting use the following scheme: the width between the rows is 15-20 centimeters, and between seeds 2-3.
- The depth should not exceed 2 centimeters.
- Then the soil is abundantly watered.
- During watering, the plants act carefully so as not to erode the soil and not to bare the seed that has not yet become stronger.
- As soon as a second pair of leaves appear on the grown trees, they should be sorted out, removing weak plants and wild apple trees. They differ from varietal in that they have smaller and brightly colored leaves, spines appear on the trunks. Thus, the distance between the trees increases to 7-8 centimeters.
At home, apple trees hold at least 4 yearsIn this case, they will be able to get stronger and will be ready for transplanting into the open ground in the future.
Every year it is necessary to increase the capacity in which the apple tree grows.This technique will help the tree develop the correct root system.
How to grow an apple tree from the bone. Transplantation of germinated seeds in the ground:
Watering - for a young apple tree, timely watering is the main source of livelihood; without it, the root system that has not yet become strong will not be able to get enough moisture and the tree may die.
It is best to carry out such a procedure once a week, avoiding the formation of a dry peel.
Top dressing - it is worth considering that in the first years of life active organic additives, which include manure or bird droppings can harm the plant.
They can cause burns and can cause various bacterial diseases. Therefore, these fertilizers are better to replace the infusion of humus.
To halt leaf growth and improve the maturation of wood, at the end of August, apple trees are fed with potash-phosphorus additives.
The following amount of fertilizer is poured into each square meter of crops:
- 15-20 grams of potassium chloride;
- 30-40 grams of superphosphate.
To nutrients penetrate to the root system, during feeding the soil should be gently loosened and plenty of water.
Transplantation in open ground
As soon as the seedling reaches the age of 4It can be planted in open ground. This procedure is best done in late April - early May or in September.
In order for the tree to take root in a new place, it is necessary to choose the site for planting.
For a start, it is worth considering that over the years the root system of the apple tree will grow greatly, so this tree may need a lot of space.
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Good lighting contributes to the proper development and high-quality ripening of fruits.
Also need to pay attention to the level of occurrence of groundwater, they must be at a depth of at least 1 meter. The process technology is no different from planting seedlings purchased in the nursery.
How to grow an apple tree from a branch?
If the way of growing a fruit tree from seed seems too complicated, you can resort to cuttings reproduction. To get a seedling from a branch, preparatory work begins from the end of autumn.
This process is also quite laborious, but it will take less time and will be most likely to get the desired grade.
How to prepare cuttings for reproduction
Many gardeners are trying to get a sapling by cutting unprepared branches and placing them in the water. But in this case, it is unlikely to wait for the roots to appear.
To make the process a success, in late autumn - early winter, cuttings are prepared for reproduction using the following actions:
- To begin with, a strong, young and mature branch is selected, its age should be 1-2 years.
- Its middle should be gently broken, without damaging the cortex. For this, the selected area is bent before the appearance of a crunch.
- Then the injured place is rewound with tape or tape.
- The final step will be the attachment of a support, which can be a regular stick. It will not allow a bent branch to straighten.
How to plant the prepared planting material?
After the formation of cracks, the tree will independently try to heal them, for this a large amount of nutrients will be sent to the injured places.
With the help of such manipulations in April, the apple tree will be ready for the beginning of the breeding process:
- The first step is to remove the winding, after which the branch is cut in damaged areas.
- To germinate cuttings, it is better to use a cropped dark bottle filled with melted snow or rainwater.
- For the best efficiency of the process, several tablets of activated carbon are dissolved in water.
- If you fill the tank to the level of 10 centimeters, you can put 10 cuttings in it.
- After 3 weeks, roots will appear under the buds that are in the water.
- A bottle with sprouting branches is better to put on the windowsill.
If a young tree is provided with regular watering and protection from bright sunlight, then it will be able to quickly adapt to new conditions.
Sprouting an apple tree from a seed is a very complicated process., which can only be accomplished by an experienced gardener, but the cherenko reproduction is suitable for beginner gardeners.
In any case, the resulting tree will be one of the most beloved on the site.
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On the contrary, it is easier to grow an apple tree from a seed (if the stratification process is completed), but from a cutting \ twig 90% ends in failure, because the cuttings of an apple tree are difficult to take root, and often rot when trying to germinate.